Following yesterday’s clash between Aston Villa and Birmingham City, here are the instant reactions from both managers.
Aston Villa hosted Birmingham City at Villa Park for a 12pm kick off on Sunday February 11, with the hosts taking a two one victory.
After a goalless first half, Villa took the advantage on the hour mark through Albert Adomah, and inside of the final ten minutes of the game Conor Hourihane doubled their lead.
With Birmingham being reduced to ten men in stoppage time, all hopes of a late fight back faded and bragging rights returned to the claret and blue side of the Second City.
Teams:
Aston Villa:
Johnstone, El Mohamady Abdel Fattah, Chester, Terry, Hutton, Jedinak, Snodgrass, Hourihane, Grealish (Bjarnason 84), Adomah (Whelan 89), Hogan (Grabban 79).
Substitutes:
Taylor, Onomah, Tuanzebe, Bunn.
Birmingham:
Stockdale, Jenkinson, Roberts, Dean, Colin, Ndoye, Kieftenbeld, Maghoma (Jota 76), Davis (Adams 82), Boga, Gallagher.
Substitutes:
Gardner, Jutkiewicz, Bramall, Morrison, Kuszczak.
Speaking to the BBC’s cameras a short time after match day referee Peter Bankes blew the final whistle, Aston Villa assistant Colin Calderwood explained.
‘Steve Bruce came in on Saturday. It was the first time the players had seen him this week and, from then, it’s all been normal. He picked his team and picked his subs. He’s a very family-orientated man but he’s managed to control everything that’s gone on in his personal life. He gave an excellent half-time team talk in terms of keeping them focused and calm, telling them ‘don’t be disappointed’, that we just had to produce what we’d already done. And the goals came. A shaft of light. A moment of happiness. Derbies are good games to win and we’re on a good run of derby wins. We’ll enjoy the elation but we’re all aware of what lies ahead. We have the future to take care of.’
Birmingham City manager Steve Cotterill in his comparative interview explained.
‘Quality, experience, belief. We weren’t quite good enough to take them on. It was a bit big for a few of our younger boys. They have not performed as they have done in recent weeks. The way we’ve been playing, it gave everyone more belief that we could come and do something, that’s why the disappointment is bigger. But we weren’t good enough to take on a really experienced team. If Sam Gallagher’s shot had gone in, it might have been different. But you just hope that this was a one-off as we’ve not shown a lot of anxiety over the last two months.’
